This second week of gains saw Brent advancing over 18 percent and WTIrising a massive 33 percent.

Oil prices rose on Friday and were on course for a second consecutive week of gains as more countries moved ahead with plans to relax economic and social lockdowns put in place to halt the coronavirus pandemic and as more output was shut in.

"The road to rebalancing the oversupplied market is starting to happen", said Phil Flynn at Price Futures in Chicago.

"Although the growth of stocks of oil and oil products remains a risk for market, key trends such as supply-side and demand-side have begun to improve", says analyst at Schneider Electric, Robbie Fraser, who was quoted by MarketWatch.

USA jobless claims, meanwhile, continued to rise, although at a slower pace with 3.2 million more people seeking unemployment benefits for the week ended May 2. Distillate inventories also rose sharply.

Support for the oil market have expectations of production cuts by the largest manufacturers with the gradual recovery of demand.

Cuomo says state antibody rate at 12.3%; 6% in WNY
New hospitalisations for the virus remained in the mid-900s for a fourth day, a plateau that Cuomo said he found troubling. Overall in the United States, there were 34,000 new cases on Friday, the highest daily total since April 24.

But in a reminder that a supply glut persists, the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday that United States crude inventories rose by 8.4 million barrels last week, more than analysts expected. While the April level 626 less than the same month past year.

The oil prices have since rebounded.

Saudi Arabia increased its official selling prices for June after cutting May exports to nearly the lowest in a decade following a deal by global producers to reduce output to prop up prices.

In China, meanwhile, oil imports climbed to 10.42 million bpd in April from 9.68 million bpd in March, according to Reuters calculations based on customs data for the first four months of 2020. The next day, the quotes came out again in the plus.

However, the country's imports for all goods fell, suggesting any recovery is some way off as economies around the world fall into recession.

'Murder hornets' land in the US for the first time
University researchers are urging people in the area to learn how to identify the insects and to report any sightings. The WSU scientists will begin trapping queen murder hornets this spring, aiming to detect and eradicate the species.

Meghan reads 'Duck Rabbit' to Archie and it's simply adorable
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have marked their son's first birthday by posting a video of Meghan reading to a beaming Archie . In addition, stood behind Meghan and Harry are Princess Diana's two sisters Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale.

Trump pushes economy reopening, says virus could kill 100K
Coronavirus deaths in the US passed 67,000 on Sunday night, more deaths than the Vietnam War, and more than Trump predicted. This fall, American schools and colleges should reopen as planned, the President said. "There is more help coming".

Apple Stores to reopen in four USA states next week
Apple stores are beginning to reopen, but they will have new precautions that will limit how many people can be in a store. The company is recommending that customers buy online for contactless delivery or in-store pickup when possible.

Japan approves Gilead Sciences' remdesivir as COVID-19 drug
Remdesivir manufacturing relies on "scarce" raw materials that command their own "lengthy" production timelines, Gilead has said. The US recently approved Remdesivir, a key antiviral drug from Gilead Sciences, for emergency use on COVID-19 patients .

White House is looking to wind DOWN coronavirus taskforce
Trump was referring to the new committee overseeing the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, led by Rep. Democrats are bristling at the restriction on gathering information about the nation's response to the pandemic .